Tour de Pologne: Jan Christen wins on the climb to Kocierz Resort in stage five

Jan Christen (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) claimed victory in stage five of the Tour de Pologne, with the finish atop the climb at Kocierz Resort. The Swiss rider covered the 218.9 km in 4:53:32, ahead of Marco Brenner (Tudor Pro Cycling Team), who finished in the same time, and Louis Barré (Team Visma | Lease a Bike), third at four seconds. The race The stage, characterized by a first-category ascent in the final 40 km and a very steep final ramp to the finish line, saw Christen attack 2.2 km from the finish with a decisive acceleration. Brenner tried to respond with a counterattack in the finale, managing to close the gap, but the UAE Team Emirates-XRG rider regained control and crossed the line first, dedicating the victory to his three teammates forced to withdraw after the crash in the previous stage. "It was extremely hard, I didn't feel well all day because of yesterday's crash. I had quite a lot of back pain," Christen said. "I wasn't sure, but then at 30 km from the finish I started to feel better and better and to believe in it more and more. It was very difficult to stay calm on the climb, I felt good and I had to hold myself back so as not to go too early." Stage result 1. Jan Christen (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) — 4:53:32 2. Marco Brenner (Tudor Pro Cycling Team) s.t. 3. Louis Barré (Team Visma | Lease a Bike) +0:04 4. Axel Laurance (Netcompany Ineos) +0:05 5. Paul Lapeira (Decathlon CMA CGM Team) +0:05 General classification Bart Lemmen (Team Visma | Lease a Bike) retains the leader's jersey in the general classification with 21:09:49, ahead of Christian Scaroni (XDS Astana Team) at six seconds and Marco Brenner at fifteen. The race continues tomorrow with a new stage.